Gate-closure device

ABSTRACT

A gate-closure device for securing one or more gate members in a closed position in which compensation for variations in the lateral distance between the gate members is achieved comprising a slidable bolt and associated housing mounted on a first gate member, a keeper fixedly mounted upon an adjacent support member or second gate member, and a laterally moveable bolt retaining means adjustably mounted on said keeper allowing lateral positioning with respect to said keeper to provide compensation for variations in the separation distance between gate members. The closure device may be used even when the gate members are overlapped.

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[72] Inventor Edward 11'. Windham Plantation, l la. 21 Appl. No, 880,553 [22] Filed Nov. 20,1969 [45] Patented Sept. 7, 11971 [73] Assignee General Safety llnc.

lFort Lauderdnle, 1F la.

[54] GATE-CLOSURE DEVltClE 1 Claims, 3 Drawing Figs.

[52} US. (I1 292/1415, 292/341.18 [51] lint. Cl E0512 1/041, 1305b 15/02 [50] Field ollfimrcll 292341.18, 341.19, 340, 145, 259,289, 175, 305;19/371 [56] iteierencm Citetl UNITED STATES PATENTS 749,530 1/1904 Compton 49/371 X 838,644 12/1906 Rapson 292/145 Primary Examiner-Albert G. Craig, Jr. Attorney-Settle and Oltman ABSTRACT: A gate-closure device for securing one or more gate members in a closed position in which compensation for variations in the lateral distance between the gate members is achieved comprising a slidable bolt and associated housing mounted on a first gate member, a keeper fixedly mounted upon an adjacent support member or second gate member, and a laterally moveable bolt retaining means adjustably mounted on said keeper allowing lateral positioning with respect to said keeper to provide compensation for variations in the separation distance between gate members. The closure device may be used even when the gate members are overlapped.

PATENTEU SEP 7 m:

[flu/men E wan/amen 1N VENTOR.

H T Toe/wry GATE-CLOSURE DEVICE BACKGROUND OF Til-IE INVENTION This invention relates generally to an adjustable gate-closure device that provides compensation for variations in lateral positioning between gate members. Such a device is especially suited for use with portable gates, such as applicants portable safety gate, US. Pat. application Ser. No. 732,389, now abandoned. However, the device is not limited to this use only but may find application in any type of permanent or temporary gate when compensation for the separation of the gate must be made in an easy and simple operation.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION A gate-closure device for rigidly securing two gate members together comprising a bolting means, a housing for said bolting means secured to one of said gate members, means for retaining said bolting means, and a means for mounting said bolt-retaining means to said second gate member so that the bolt-retaining means may be moveably adjusted in order to compensate for lateral separation of said first and second gate members. The bolt-retaining means is constructed to allow for the compensation of the thickness of the first gate member whenever it is overlapped against the second gate member. After the first and second gate members are in position, the bolting means is placed in the locked position. The bolt-retaining means is then slideably positioned along the bolting means to determine a position that allows for the opening and closing of the bolting means while unsecuring and securing the gate members respectfully. Once this position is determined, the retaining means is adjustably fixed in this position. Any subsequent change in the lateral position or separation distance of the two gate members will necessitate an adjustment of the retaining means to accommodate the new position of the two gates.

It is an object of this invention to provide an adjustable closure device for a gate.

It is another object of this invention to provide a gate-01d sure device that allows for compensation in the separation distance ofthe two gate members.

It is still another object of this invention to provide a gateclosure device for use with portable safety gates.

And yet still another object of this invention is to provide a closure device for securing together two moveable objects in which the lateral separation may be varied.

A further object of this invention is to provide a closure device for securing overlapping gate members.

In accordance with these and other objects which will be apparent hereinafter, the instant invention will now be described with particular reference to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the drawings:

FIG. I is a side view of applicant's invention in operation between the two slightly separated surfaces.

FIG. 2 is a side view of applicants invention in operation between two surfaces that are slightly overlapped.

FIG. 3 is a vertical cross section of applicant's invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now in detail to the drawing wherein an embodiment of the invention is shown, and referring, particularly, to FIG. I, segments of two gate members I and II are shown slightly separated at 25, and secured together by bolt Id which moves in the direction of the arrow indicated. The bolt is secured to gate III in bolt housing I2. Rigidly secured to bolt I4 is a bolt handle I3 which projects through bolthousing aperture I and allows the bolt to be moved from a closed position as shown in FIG. I to an open position. The bolt I4 will be in an open or a closed position depending on whether or not the bolt I4 is positioned within the bolt-retaining means shown at 1% and I9. To unsecure the gate members III and II, bolt handle I3 is moved laterally so as to withdraw the bolt I4 from within the bolt-retaining means Id and Id. The retaining means I8 and 19 are generally cylindrically shaped in size for receiving bolt Id and are connected to a slideable bar 20 by braces ZI and 22. Slideable bar 20 is adjustably fixed to gate segment II by keepers I6 and I7. Butterfly adjustment screws 23 and 24 adjustably fix the position of slideable bar 20 with respect to the keepers I6 and I7. The motion of sliding bar 26 is shown by the arrow. The keepers I6 and 1'7 may be fixed to the gate II in any well known manner. Since the bolt retaining means 18 and I9 are secured to the sliding bolt 20, the entire slideable retaining unit indicated generally at I5 may thus be adjustably moved in a lateral direction to compensate for any differences in distance or separation of gate members I0 and II.

FIG. 2 shows the same bolting units and slideable retaining device when the gates III and II are positioned so as to overlap, indicated generally at 25. This might happen if portable gates were used to protect an opening or gateway that is smaller than the lateral width sum of the two portable gates used. As indicated by the relative position of the sliding bar 20 and the keepers I6 and 17, the sliding bar MI (and thus the entire unit I5) has been moved relative to keepers I6 and I7 and fixed in place to compensate for the overlap of the two gates. I-Iad there been no compensation by adjustably moving the bolt-retaining means, the movement of the bolt handle I3 to the open position in aperture Illa would not have been sufficient to disengage the bolt 14 from the retaining means 18 and I9. However, after the compensation, it is noted that the position of the bolt-retaining means I8 and IS" with respect to the end of bolt M is now the same as in FIG. 2 as shown before in FIG. I.

FIG. 3 shows how the proper separation is accomplished in the joined gates. FIG. 3 is a vertical cross section taken along line a, a (FIG. I) showing a segment of gate II to which is attached keeper I7 and including a view of the adjacent edge of overlapping door It). Bolt-retaining means I9 is cylindrically and elliptically shaped to allow vertical compensation (from the floor) for vertical distance discrepancies between the bolt and the bolt-retaining means. Thus, bolt I4, shown in the overlapped position, has enough vertical movement within the bolt'retaining means I9 to provide adequate compensation for vertical differences caused by an uneven floor or adjustments in positioning temporary gates. The bolt-retaining means is fixed to sliding bar MI by a holding brace .22. The sliding bar 2G is adjustably fixed and held in position in the keeper by butterfly bolt 2d. The particular interior dimensions and shape of the bolt-retaining means are dependent upon the nature and the types of gate members used. Keeper support arm 25 is constructed sufficiently long enough from the surface of gate member II to compensate for the thickness of gate member III. Thus whether overlapped or not, the surfaces of gate members III and II are positioned so as to not lie in the same vertical plane, such as shown in FIG. 3. This may be done when the gate members are installed.

Therefore, in operation, the two gate members are positioned with respect to each other laterally as is required by the particular opening in which the gates are to protect. This might be required when using, for example, portable safety gates that are individually supported and adjustable laterally together to any size opening. After the proper separation of the gate members has been achieved, the bolt is moved to the closed position such that bolt handle I3 is in a position closer to the adjacent gate member. The bolt-retaining means are positioned over the bolt at such a distance from the free bolt end so that when the bolt handle is moved toward gate segment I'd, the bolt will be withdrawn from the retaining means. When this position has been found by the lateral movement of sliding bar 2b, then the sliding bar 2b is secured to gate II by the tightening of the butterfly screws .23 and in keepers I6 and II.

Many variations of appicants invention are possible within the scope of the invention. For example, although two rctaining means have been shown in the preferred embodiment, a particular number is not essential but would merely determine the resulting strength of the secured gate. Likewise, the slideuble bar portion could be secured to the gate in any well known adjustable means and although shown as a gate closure device in the preferred embodiment, the device is applicable to other closure devices.

The instant invention has been shown and described herein in what is considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiment. It is recognized, however, that departures may be made therefrom within the scope of the invention and that obvious modification will occur to a person skilled in the art.

What is claimed is:

1. In an adjustable closure device for retaining first and second door means in a closed position and including a bolt movably affixed to said first door means for horizontal movement, the combination therewith of improved bolt-retaining means comprising keeper hoop means for receiving said bolt, an elongated slide bar affixed to said keeper hoop means, keeper bracket means having a horizontally extending support surface on which said slide bar rides for horizontal movement thereof with said keeper hoop means and also having vertical portions, one of which vertical portions is affixed to said second door means to position said support surface horizontally, said bracket means having horizontally spaced openings therein for receiving bolts respectively, and bolts secured through said openings respectively and engaging said slide bar to clamp said slide bar against a portion of said bracket means, said bolts being adjustable to release said slide bar for horizontal movement parallel to said second door means to reposition said keeper hoop means horizontally and thereby allow for variations in the positions of said first and second door means.

2. An adjustable closure device for retaining first and second door means in a closed position and allowing for variations in-the positions of said door means, said device comprising a bolt affixed to said first door means and horizontally movable relative to said first door means, hoop-shaped keeper means positioned on said second door means opposite said bolt to receive an end portion of said bolt for retaining said doors closed, with said bolt being capable of being withdrawn from said keeper means for opening of said doors, a horizontally elongated slide bar affixed to said hoop-shaped keeper means, keeper bracket means having a horizontal support surface extending parallel to said second door means on which support surface said slide bar rides horizontally for repositioning thereof, said keeper bracket means further having vertical portions, one of which is affixed to said second door means to position said support surface horizontally, said bracket means having a plurality of openings therein spaced horizontally from each other, and a plurality of bolts secured through said openings respectively and forcing said slide bar in clamping engagement with a portion of said bracket means to hold said slide bar stationary, said bolts being adjustable to release said slide bar for horizontal movement parallel to said second door means to reposition said hoop-shaped keeper means horizontally and thereby allow for variations in the positions of said first and second door means.

3. The closure device as claimed in claim 2 in which said horizontal support surface and said vertical portions of said bracket means define a channel receiving said slide bar.

4. The adjustable closure device as claimed in claim 3 in which said openings are located in one of said vertical portions of said bracket means at said channel, and said bolts are threaded through said openings to force said slide bar against a vertical portion of said bracket means on the opposite side of said channel from said openings. 

1. In an adjustable closure device for retaining first and second door means in a closed position and including a bolt movably affixed to said first door means for horizontal movement, the combination therewith of improved bolt-retaining means comprising keeper hoop means for receiving said bolt, an elongated slide bar affixed to said keeper hoop means, keeper bracket means having a horizontally extending support surface on which said slide bar rides for horizontal movement thereof with said keeper hoop means and also having vertical portions, one of which vertical portions is affixed to said second door means to position said support surface horizontally, said bracket means having horizontally spaced openings therein for receiving bolts respectively, and bolts secured through said openings respectively and engaging said slide bar to clamp said slide bar against a portion of said bracket means, said bolts being adjustable to release said slide bar for horizontal movement parallel to said second door means to reposition said keeper hoop means horizontally and thereby allow for variations in the positions of said first and second door means.
 2. An adjustable closure device for retaining first and second door means in a closed position and allowing for variations in the positions of said door means, said device comprising a bolt affixed to said first door means and horizontally movable relative to said first door means, hoop-shaped keeper means positioned on said second door means opposite said bolt to receive an end portion of said bolt for retaining said doors closed, with said bolt being capable of being withdrawn from said keeper means for opening of said doors, a horizontally elongated slide bar affixed to said hoop-shaped keeper means, keeper bracket means having a horizontal support surface extending parallel to said second door means oN which support surface said slide bar rides horizontally for repositioning thereof, said keeper bracket means further having vertical portions, one of which is affixed to said second door means to position said support surface horizontally, said bracket means having a plurality of openings therein spaced horizontally from each other, and a plurality of bolts secured through said openings respectively and forcing said slide bar in clamping engagement with a portion of said bracket means to hold said slide bar stationary, said bolts being adjustable to release said slide bar for horizontal movement parallel to said second door means to reposition said hoop-shaped keeper means horizontally and thereby allow for variations in the positions of said first and second door means.
 3. The closure device as claimed in claim 2 in which said horizontal support surface and said vertical portions of said bracket means define a channel receiving said slide bar.
 4. The adjustable closure device as claimed in claim 3 in which said openings are located in one of said vertical portions of said bracket means at said channel, and said bolts are threaded through said openings to force said slide bar against a vertical portion of said bracket means on the opposite side of said channel from said openings. 